Bodies under Water

In the organizer's words:

LECTURE PERFORMANCE
A hydrofeminist transformation
by Annalisa Engheben

"We are all bodies of water. In water we experience ourselves less as isolated beings and more as oceanic eddies: I am a unique dynamic vortex dissolving into a complex flowing circulation." (Astrida Neimanis: Hydrofeminism: Or, On Becoming a Bodies of Water, Bloomsbury 2017)

Bodies function differently under water than on land; different rules apply here, physically, ecologically and socially. Perhaps here, freed from the shackles of territorial thinking, lies a hidden utopia - free from binaries, patriarchal hierarchies and the logic of capitalism - that makes us forget the dominance of a male-dominated view of the world! It's easy to say, and the demand to "think differently" is quickly written. But what does this different way of thinking mean in practice? What does it cost to break away from established patterns and categories? How is it possible to leave the comfort zone of land-based thinking and test yourself with your own physicality in the element of water?

For centuries, women in Japan (Ama) and South Korea (Haenyeo) have formed special communities that are connected to the sea. They dive for abalone - a profession that is far more than just work: a vocation that involves lifeblood and cross-generational knowledge. For the seafarers, the sea is not a place of fishing, but a space of coexistence, characterized by respect and sustainability. However, rising temperatures and increasing pollution have tangible consequences. The seawomen are seeing with their own eyes how life in the shallows is disappearing. In order to survive, they have to dive deeper - physically and metaphorically.

Inspired by these experts, Annalisa Engheben dives together with actors into the deep sea of the MalerSaal, where liquid becomes a metaphor for freedom, connection and change. They take us on a poetic and scientific exploration of the concept of the "water body" in search of a hydrofeminist avant-garde. The performance explores what it means to think of our bodies as permeable, interconnected bodies of water that are no longer separate from others, but live in a large, interwoven cycle. What new stories, what forms of community and what images can be found in the depths that are worth bringing ashore?

With: Sachiko Hara and Alberta von Poelnitz

Director: Annalisa Engheben
Stage: Julia Oschatz
Costumes: Jana Sophia Schweers
Music: Giovanni Verga
Dramaturgy: Ludwig Haugk

Further information: Bodies under Water | Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg